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Social Media Gold: Tips for Success

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Published: 18 January 2018

Guest Blogger: Kathryn Bianga, Great Lakes First FCU

When regularly posting on social media, it’s important to keep certain things in mind:

Keep your posts short, sweet, and concise. The truth is that attention spans are mere seconds in today’s fast paced society. Your posts should not contain paragraphs or run on sentences. Say what you need to say and keep it brief so your message is not lost.

Find a way to make it exciting. According to Hubspot, visual content is 40 times more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content. Use well thought out graphics and pictures to enhance all your messages. Make sure the images you use are high quality and resolution. Utilize online resources, articles, and stock photo sites to ensure that images are the right dimensions and pixel size for each platform you post them on.

Use CTAs (Calls to Action). Your social media posts should (almost) always prompt someone to do something. Request that your friends and followers take action, whether it’s through visiting your website, clicking a blog link, viewing a newsletter, commenting below, or re-visiting the page in the future for an upcoming announcement. CTAs are the most important part of your social post. They drive traffic to your content, like your website and your blog. Once someone is on a landing page, they become a lead, and they’re one step closer to visiting you with their needs.

Use your voice through engagement. Don’t just make a post and observe from afar. Become part of the conversation happening on your page. When someone makes a comment, respond to it. Show that you are present on your platform and genuinely care what people are saying about your posts. Showing gratitude and valuing someone’s comment is a surefire way to build follower loyalty and show the world that you aren’t just a scheduling-bot.

But…use the scheduling tool to make your life easier. It’s there for a reason. If you’re in marketing, you know that although social media plays a big part in the strategy, you can’t spend an hour each day creating a thoughtful post. Take some time at the beginning of each week to plan what you’re going to say. Get together your graphics, messages, and links, and then use the scheduling tool to set it all up. You do the prep, and then let the platforms do the work.

Pay attention to your insights. Today, social media campaigns are like a living, breathing thing. They need to be managed and optimized. Use your insights tools to see what posts are getting the most engagement, what posts are lacking, and what content receives the most shares. Take this information and model your future posts after it.

Most importantly: never go on the defense. Once in a while, a situation might spark someone to include your businesses name in an emotionally-fueled social media post. Because the internet is an explosive ground for opinion sharing, this might even start a conversation about an issue that you really want to interject on. A solid rule when it comes to negative social backlash is to always keep it professional and positive. If you say anything at all using the comments section, apologize for the situation and offer an opportunity for that person to call your business to find a positive resolution. Never use a comment that could be interpreted as rude or uncaring. Don’t try and over-explain the situation so everyone else in the comments will understand what happened. Remember, it only takes someone half a second to screenshot a comment that you might post and regret.